Combat Fitness is an exercise system that combines fundamental
self-defence training with fitness workouts, which advances into
learning actual combat techniques from various martial arts.
These include striking, kicking, grappling, take-downs, throws and
weapon work.
"Most people would not be willing to dedicate several years to master kung fu so I had to find a range of simpler techniques that would still be effective."
Who is Combat Fitness For? Combat Fitness is for all ages; whether
you want to learn how to defend yourself, become fit and strong,
become more flexible, or learn advanced combat skills, there is
something for everyone.
The exercises are scalable to allow senior citizens to participate
at their own pace and they can remain active. Kids will also
benefit from the workouts to increase their physical activity,
improve their hand-eye coordination, control their temperament and
to manage bullying.
The idea of Combat Fitness started when my sister was driving home from university while travelling through Braamfontein. In the bumper-to-bumper afternoon traffic, an unassuming pedestrian walked past her car, turned around, and then smashed her window to steal her handbag. She was shaken up, but fortunately she was not assaulted and she only suffered minor glass cuts. This incident got me thinking: with my five plus years of kung fu training, what would I have done differently? Would I have been more alert? Would I have been able to confront the perpetrator? So I began to started to think deeply about the situation and I deduced seven action steps to follow in any event. I began to research the concept of “self-defence” and I realised that most people would not be willing to dedicate several years to master kung fu so I had to find a range of simpler techniques that would still be effective. In my research I came across a concept called O.O.D.A which stands for Observe–Orient–Decide–Act developed by Colonel John Boyd, and it was strikingly similar to what I came up with, but was three steps shorter and more concise. Read more about our story and the Combat Fitness methodology.
Boxing (i.e. striking with the fists) is a form of combat
that is common in many cultures throughout human history.
Modern boxing is fought with rules and gloves and require
amateur boxers to wear protective headgear, while
professional boxers are not.
Boxing contains many hands coordination, distancing,
footwork and dodging skills.
The national martial art of the Philippines, it is also
known by its two other Spanish derived names: Arnis and
Kali.
Since there were many different Filipinos tribes, so too are
there many different styles, and they mainly utilise stick,
knife fighting and weapon disarming techniques, and some
open hand techniques.
This is an Israeli martial art which combines aikido, judo,
karate, boxing, savate and wrestling together to create a
system used by the military and for civilians.
The movements are practical and effective as they emphasise
damaging attacks which can cause permanent injury in order
to end fights quickly.
Another very useful aspect is to become environmentally
aware of other potential attackers and to look for escape
routes.
Systema is a Russian art which requires extensive drilling
in numerous movements and exercises, but these result in
practitioners becoming extremely flexible and agile.
Combatants also utilise intensive breathing methods to
reduce tension and to sustain the body during hard workouts.
Calisthenics are also practiced to make joints more supple
and this greatly helps to improve mobility.
Ninjutsu was developed in Japan and contrary to popular
belief, ninja did not often engage in open combat.
They were employed as assassins, saboteurs, spies and
infiltrators so they had to use covert techniques so as not
to draw attention to themselves.
These had to be highly effective and they often used
concealed weapons as well.
Chinese Kung fu favours strikes and kicks over grappling and
wrestling and has many different styles that span from short
to long range, internal to external styles.
By picking many techniques from the various styles a
defender can have a wider array of tools and options in
their arsenal.
Our instructors all have 15+ years experience as a martial artists.
Coach Warren is the main instructor at Combat Fitness. He is an accomplished kungfu practitioner and has been teaching martial arts and self-defense for over 10 years.
